Soft Fork Definition - Glossary

Soft Fork is a blockchain protocol change compatible with previous versions. It requires only a majority upgrade.

Soft Fork is a type of blockchain protocol update that remains backward compatible. This means that nodes that haven't upgraded can still process transactions, but they won't benefit from the new features. It usually requires only a majority of network nodes or miners to upgrade to implement the changes. Unlike hard forks, a soft fork doesn't split the blockchain into two separate versions. Instead, it allows for new rules to be introduced while maintaining consensus with older software versions. This makes it a flexible way to introduce improvements.